Flowers for Her Grave
by DrtyDiva
Summary: The 12th hasn't been the same since Kate Beckett's death. Richard Castle hasn't written a single book and the murder closure rate has taken a nose dive. They need some new blood and August James is what they are going to get. James has finally got her transfer out of Vice squad. What will August walk into and can she live up to Beckett's legacy?
1. New kid on the block

Kate looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day and any other time she would have enjoyed being out and under the pure white clouds. However the hole in her chest and the fact that she couldn't breath was making it hard to truly enjoy her surroundings.

A shadow fell across her face. "Castle," she whispered reaching out a hand for his cheek.

"Kate its going to be alright," Castle said. "Help!" he shouted into the chaos that was swirly around. It was Capt. Montgomery's funeral. It was supposed to be safe. It was supposed to all be over. Montgomery had said what he was doing was going to stop them. He shook his head and returned his attention back to Beckett bleeding out on the grass. Castle stroked Kate's cheek leaving a bloody trail down her face. "Kate stay with me ok. Stay with me." he whispered. The rest of the world had shrunk to a pinpoint of activity in his brain. All he he could focus on was Kate and the slowly fading light in her eyes. "Kate you have to stay with me. I love you." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I love you, please stay with me." Tears spilled freely down her face and dampened her shirt.

With her last ounce of strength she cupped his cheek and focused on his face. "I love you too," she whispered before her body gave out on her. Her hand slipped limply onto the grass.

**~~X~~**

To say August was nervous would be like saying a turtle's butt was water tight.

"You're the best and the brightest. Daddy's shining star." She whispered to herself as she rode the elevator up the the fifth floor. It was a silly little mantra her father had quipped on her first day of kindergarten when she refused to climb out of the car and venture into her new school. It had been all her mother could have done to get her into the car in the first place, and when she pulled up tp the school to had been determined not to get out. She was convinced there was nothing that could have been said that would have moved her. Her dad calling her a shining star had done it.

And here she was on her first day at the 12th as the new lead homicide detective repeating the mantra to herself on the ride up. The door slowly creaked open and she stepped into her new world. It was sad to say that the brown box she now found herself in was a step up from the single grey cinder block building she had spent the first three years of her life as a cop in.

The little lobby had two lumpy plastic benches pushed up against metal and wood pony walls that was topped off with chain link. The main part of the floor was taken up by the bullpen with neat little rows of spartan desks and chair combinations. Most of the desks were empty, but the place was buzzing with activity.

August wasn't sure what she needed to be doing. "Can I help you?" A voice asked.

August turned to see a black woman with half moon glasses perched on her nose staring her down. "I'm the new transfer from Central Park. I'm looking for Captain Gates." August said thankful that she could remember her new captain's name.

It had taken all of her brain power to dress herself and even then she had left the house with two different shoes on. If Canary, her little French bulldog, hadn't ran into the room chewing on her other shoe she wouldn't have known she didn't have on a matching pair.

"I'm Captain Gates," the woman said holding out her hand for August's transfer papers.

August blushed before reaching into her purse to dig for the papers the captain was asking for. "Yes ma'am." she said handing over the paperwork.

"My mom is a ma'am you call me sir or Captain." Gates said. August nodded like a trained puppy.

'Oh Lord, this is crazy,' August thought to herself. She was in homicide now, not Vice. And she was a detective now. She was actually a part of the food chain with her gold shield. Her voice mattered, and thankfully she didn't have to walk up and down the Ho Stroll in seven inch plastic shoes and a mini skirt that could double as a belt on a good day. "Yes sir," she said. If Capt Gates wanted to be called sir she would do it. She could giggle about it later at home over Chinese food and a cold beer.

The captain took the paperwork and motioned August to follow her. She hitched up her box and her purse to follow the captain. Behind the cages the office seemed a lot bigger and it smelled freshly cleaned. She followed her down the hallway that snaked along the wall.

The entered a large office with glass on three sides and a large window that overlooked the street. Captain Gates went around to her desk and sat down. August remained standing at the front of the desk. "They call you St. James don't they?" Gates said finally taken off her glasses to get a good look at the new detective OnePP had sent her. Since Beckett's death they had been running homicide on a tight leash being down two investigators.

August really hated that nickname, but she nodded regardless. "Yes sir." She got the moniker from her frequent attempts to rehabilitate the hookers that she regularly had to bust. She had managed to save a few. Carmel still sent her letters from Iowa State. She hadn't done it out of any sense of trying to be a savior, but simply she thought everyone deserved another shot at life. Plus hookers held a special place in her heart.

Gates took her glasses office to get a good look at August James. It was hard to believe that the pint sized cop standing before her could have done half of what her jacket said she had done. She had applied to SWAT three times in the Atlanta PD and turned down each time. She was just too small to be SWAT.

Not deterred James had did a stint in APD's gang unit before moving to narcotics. Then James moved to New York where she took step down into Vice. Whatever her reasons for doing it she had done a stellar job there as well. Gates like ambition and she liked when woman showed it and did it the right way. She hadn't been called Iron Gates in the IA office for nothing.

"Well welcome to the 12th. I run a clean house here. Do your job and do it clean and we will get along just great." August nodded. Everyone knew who Iron Gates was. You didn't work in Internal Affairs without people knowing about it and staying clear of you because of it, but August had heard nothing but good things about Gates so she didn't take it as a punishment getting assigned to the 12th like she would have for any other former IA captain. "You've got a good team out there. Use them wisely and get my close rate down. I've got pressure from One PP as if they think I can this job shorthanded. So we are glad you're here." Gates gave August a rare smile.

Gates stood up from her chair and rapped sharply on the glass overlooking the bullpen. She motioned for two detectives that had been chatting away in the bullpen. A hispanic male and a short white guy got up from their desks to walk into Gates office. "Ryan, Esposito this is August James our new detective. She's coming to us from Central Park. James, this is Ryan and Esposito." Gates said by way of introduction. It wasn't hard to guess which was Ryan and which was Esposito.

"Nice to meet you," August held out her hand for them to shake. She could feel Ryan and Esposito eyeing her and wondering if someone that short could actually do police work without a step ladder.

"Well get back to work," Gates said with a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. They needed some new blood in the place.

Everyone scrambled out of her office and back into the bullpen. Now that she was in it she could see that the other side of the room was dominated by a expansive white board that was current clean.

"So August huh," Ryan said eyeing August up and down. Which would have been a feat if August stood any taller than her 4 foot 7 inches.

"Got two sisters name January and September if you care," she said with a shrug. She was used to taking crap about her name. Ryan wasn't exactly being original on that front.

Ryan maintained eye contact for a few more seconds before dropping his eyes and finding something interesting on his desk.

"So Central Park," Esposito said trying to ease the tension his partner had caused.

August nodded, "Yeah. Started at Atlanta PD on patrol worked my way up the chain to gangs and then narcotics. When it was clear to my mom that I was more focused on my job and not making babies and baking Red Velvet cupcakes she became unbearable. She I needed to get away from my mother and my sisters so I applied to the NYPD. Been working Vice in the park since I got here. I stayed longer than most. I liked the work and I liked my girls." August told him truthfully. Not many woman on Vice liked the gig. It was usually the ho stroll for women working Vice. Or posing as immigrants to get into the trafficking world. It was degrading but to August her job had been just as important as the guys on SWAT.

August sat down at an empty desk and looked up at Javier and Kevin. She had read their jackets when she got the promotion. "So let's talk about the elephant in the room." she said softly. Ryan flinched and Esposito's eyes narrowed. Well at least she knew who the tough guy was in the their little bromance. "I'm not here to replace Beckett. I'm not even going to try. I'm August James and I do things different, but not I'm not trying to throw dirt on her name. All I ask is that you give me a chance." She spread out her hands and gave them both space to air out their feelings.

Esposito opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the clang of the land line on his desk. He picked up. "Esposito." His handed patted down his desk looking for a pad and a pencil. It took him to locate both and he started scribbling faster than August could track.

"Got a body in the park." He said standing up to grab his jacket. Ryan stood up as well. They strapped on their pieces and shields before heading to the door.

Ryan turned back and looked at August. "Are you riding with us." He asked. August strapped on her SIG sauser and her shield before grabbing her blazer as well. It was weird laying a gold shield across her chest. She had been staring at her silver badge for nearly five years. And now she was in the big leagues. It made her heart flutter.

**~~X~~**

Richard Castle was a man on the road to recovery.

It had been two years since Beckett's death. It had hurt like hell, it still hurt, but it was easier to get up and out of bed in the morning. He sat at the desk in his office staring at his computer. He hadn't touched it since her funeral. He had started on his next book, Naked Lost in those days after the shooting thinking he was up to the task of laying Nikki Heat to rest along with Beckett. In his alcohol fueled writing sprint he had written nearly the entire book. Up to the point of Nikki dying. He never finished the scene. It had been too much to take.

If it hadn't been for Alexis, his mother, Ryan and Esposito he wasn't sure he would have made it, but today he was ready to finish his last tribute to Nikki Heat and Kate Beckett. He reached out and stroked his keyboard. "Hello old friend," he said with a sad smile on his face.

He didn't know if the words were going to come. This had been in fourth attempt and getting the words out. He could feel the grief poisoning his soul and he needed an outlet. He knew he did. He didn't want to go on feeling like this any longer. He knew Beckett would have kicked his butt up and down 5th Avenue if she knew what he was doing to himself.

At that though he smiled and reach out to grab his keyboard to plop down in his lap.

He fired up the laptop and pulled up his last manuscript. He didn't bother reading through what he had already written. He knew the words by heart. He just needed to finish the ending. He scrolled down to the last line. _Her eyes began to dim._His heart started to palpitate but he pushed himself to poise his fingers above the keys. _Rook's tears ran down his face freely as he begged Nikki to hold on._ Castle had to blink away the tears as he started to write.

**~~X~~**

Alexis stood at the doorway as she watched her dad at his computer.

It had been killing her every single day to watch her dad in so much pain. It had been all she could do to keep herself from tearing out into the night to find the bastard that had ripped his heart out and taken Kate Beckett from the world.

But today her heart felt a little lighter. Her dad was writing again, and she knew what he was writing and if he felt that he could deal with that maybe, just maybe he was ready to land back on reality's runway.

She left her father alone to write and remember.

~~X~~

The team pushed through the underbrush. It was hard going for August as some of the bushes were taller than she was. Ryan and Esposito seemed to forget she was behind them, or that she was a foot shorter than ryan who seemed to be on the small side himself.

She sighed and kept moving forward. She was a cop, not a dainty housewife that needed looking after.

They finally broke through the ring of the trees and bushes into a small clearing. August knew they were on the south side of he park closer to the horse trails and away from the running trails. It was a perfect dumping ground for bodies, and it was bodies, plural.

This wasn't her first body dump, she worked Central Park for three years, but this was the first time she had to work the crime scene.

Usually her job consisted of being the grunt for the guys with the gold badges. Now this was her show and everyone was looking at her for instructions. She took a deep breath and let her eyes wonder over the scene. "Ryan canvas the witnesses, Esposito talk to the unis and the and get statements please." they only hesitated for a moment before hopping to do her bidding.

Ryan immediately went to the horse riders to question them. Esposito went to speak to the first responders. August was drawn to the bodies. She couldn't explain why, but it seemed like they were calling out for justice. There were five of them. All white and Eastern European looking. They all seemed to be in their early twenties. Her eyes took note of their clothing which marked them as hookers, but something was off about all of their outfits.

None of them fit. Not in the too tight because I am showing off my tits and ass, as johns liked to see what they were buying, but in the sense that this mini skirt is too big for me a rides down my hips. No hooker on the stroll would wear a mini skirt that was too big.

Someone was trying hard to make this look like a pimp cleaning house. August grunted.

A striking black woman in a blue ME jacket was checking the liver temp of one of the victims. She looked up at August. "Finally got a new kid on the block huh?" she asked. She pulled off one of her purple gloves, " Lanie Parish. Everyone just calls me Lanie." she offered.

August knelt down and shook the doctor's hand, "August James. Everyone called me James." August joked.

"Glad to see a little more color in the precinct if I may be so bold." Not that Lanie wouldn't have been as bold as she wanted to be, but she had to get a feel for the new girl before she let all of Lanie Parish out to play.

"I couldn't agree more." august answered. There weren't enough woman on the force if you asked her let alone woman of color in places of power. August rather got a rush bossing the men around. She knew some would call it a Napoleon complex and she would tell them to try wearing a Kevlar vest over 34 Ds sometime and then come talk to her about Napoleon.

Lanie smiled and put on a fresh glove. "So it looks like the time of death was between 7 pm and 9 pm last night." She set down her clipboard to turn the blonde's head. "Two kill shots to the back of the head execution style. The lack of blood indicates this isn't the primary scene. This is the dump site." She stood up.

"Caliber?" August asked as she took note of Lanie's assesment.

"Off the cuff I would say a 9, but I have to get them back to the lab to confirm." She motioned for her guys to start loading up the bodies.

"Any ids on the bodies?" She knew there wasn't going to be any. The girls weren't wearing their won cloths and this was the dump site, but it was prudent to ask.

"None. I might be able to pull prints once we get back to the lab." Lanie told her before moving off to help with the loading of the bodies.

August stood watching the activity around her before starting to walk the scene. She saw a set of wide placed tire tracks leading up to the dump site.

"We got some SUV tracks over here," she called to the lab geeks. They nodded and started over to do whatever it was they did. August had never had a head for science. She had been the volleyball and track star. She night have been short, but she made up for it in her bite.

"So the riders said they ride this trail every morning starting at 6 am. They ride all the way to the east side entrance then loop back around. They didn't see anything coming in. They found they bodies as they were riding out." Ryan said flipping through his little notebook.

"Ok so that ride would have taken them just about an hour if they weren't galloping. Its the middle of November so they aren't many joggers that early." August answered. "They were brought in by car. The gate doesn't open till 8am." August bit her bottom lip. Something wasn't adding it up.

"Ryan can you go check the west side gates at the park and see what's going on. They aren't supposed to be open yet. See if you can get some camera footage. Thank you." Ryan nodded and jogged off. "Let's head back and see if we got any missing person reports for them." Without any id that was the only thing they cold do at this point as they waited for all the reports to pour in.

Thanks to shows like NCIS and CSI the public thinks that the police department had state of the art equipment that could do 3D renders of faces and then race through the entire database of drivers licenses till one pinged. Maybe the alphabet boys in DC had their hands on that short of equipment, but down in the trenches everything still had to be done by hand.

And after three hours of flipping through missing persons report August's eyes were starting to cross and her stomach was fighting a vicious battle in her body. "I don't know about you but I could use a burger and something cold." she told Esposito before climbing out of her chair she was going to need a grappling hook to get back into if she couldn't figure out how to lower it closer to the ground.

She had felt like a gargoyle perched on the edge of the New York Public Library sitting on that thing, but the other chairs were all spoken for. And if there was one thing a cop loved outside of his gun and his badge it was his chair that had molded to fit his butt over the years.

"Come with me I know the perfect place." Espo grabbed his coat and August followed suit. He knocked on the glass in the tech room to get Ryan's attention. It only took him a few minutes to stop the video he was watching and join them on their way to the elevator.

**~~X~~**

It had taken Castle the entire morning of straight writing to get the last three chapters done. He felt it was his best work. He didn't bother reading it before sending it off to Gina. He might have written the words, but he couldn't bring himself to read them again. He was healing he wasn't ready to rip the bandage off just yet.

His mother was at rehearsal and Alexis was in class so he was on his own for lunch, and he felt it was time to rejoin the world. Though he loved take out there was only so much he could stomach and his mother's cooking left a lot to be desired. Like the desire to not die a slow, agonizing death by food poisonings.

He took a long soul scrubbing shower. It felt good to be treating himself again. He pulled on a pair or black slacks and a deep blue shirt. He grabbed a blazer before sliding on a pair of black shades. It was overkill and wholly unnecessary, but it felt good and he looked like his old self.

He left his car keys at home and didn't bother with a cab. It was good to be back outside so he opted to walk downtown to his favorite pub. The Old Haunt. He did own it after all and what was the use of owning a pub if you couldn't drop in and grab a pint of something.

Though it was the middle of November and the air was chilly the streets were as packed as ever. Castle didn't mind. He didn't realize how much he had been craving human interaction till he was in the middle of the living pavement moving in both directions. He felt himself for the first time smiling and actually enjoying the sensation of his lips stretching over his mouth. He felt it in his heart right down to his toes.

"Bellvue is that way pal," Someone snapped as he pushed past the grinning Castle. Castle hadn't realized he was grinning like a fool.

He just shook his head and kept walking.

It took him nearly an hour to walk to the 42 blocks to the Old Haunt. He saw the unmarked car parked on the curb at the reserved stop. Only two people would have parked in that spot and Castle felt his smile brighten.

He practically skipped down the stairs.

The Old Haunt was a classic pub. Dark, brown and cavelike. The interior was done in a rich chocolate brown that covered the walls as well as the floors. The bar that ran down the far wall was in a lighter wood with brass accents. Many of the bar stools were occupied and all of the booths were filled with munching and drinking patrons. Castle felt good that he had been in a position to save the place, but his eyes were drawn the the booth on the back right hand side.

He spotted Ryan and Esposito laughing and eating. "Well if I knew you guys were going to be eating up my profits I would have rescinded the NYPD eat for free policy." He joked. It felt good that the joke flowed freely from his lips.

"Castle," Ryan said cheerfully. He slide from the booth to embrace his friend.

"Welcome back man," Esposito said once it was his turn for a hug. Things just hadn't felt right around the precinct without Castle around to joke with ans spin conspiracy yarns for them to shoot down.

"And who is this?" He asked spying August still sitting in the booth looking at everyone. "Lanie's little sister?" Ryan chocked on the mouthful of coke he had just swallowed.

August's face blanched. "Um Richard Castle. This is Detective August James. She's with us." Javier told him.

"She's like four feet tall," Castle said as he took in Detective James who was looking like she was debating how much paperwork it would be if she shot him.


	2. Blast from the PastLiterally

August slide out of the booth and stood in Castle's shadow with her hands on her hips. People may have thought what Castle had just voiced, but they were too smart to say it. August had a bit of a chip on her shoulder about her height.

Castle peered down at August with an amused expression on his face. She was cute in a miniature sort of way.

She glared up at him with a evil glint in her eye. Why were the big ones always stupid?

He was totally caught unprepared for the swift kick to his kneecap. Everyone winced at the sound. Castle yelped like a spanked puppy as he knee buckled under the pain. He dropped down to the floor as tears sprang to his eyes.

Now that he was on his knees he was able to look August in the eye. "That Mr. Castle was a warning shot. I. Don't. Like. Short. Jokes." She stepped into his face and crossed her arms. "Ok." She didn't pose it as a question. It was a command. One that she expected Castle to follow without protest.

Castle nodded and stayed on the floor till August was a safe distance away. With Ryan between them with his gun side away from the kicking dwarf.

Esposito and Ryan tried to keep the grins off their faces, but it didn't work. Even with Castle clearly in pain the partners shared a laugh.

When he was able to pick himself up and stand on the knee without wincing even Castle found himself smiling. It felt good to be back around his boys and it felt even better just to smile again. He had convinced himself that he would never find anything worth smiling over.

Once Castle settled into their booth lunch was a fun filled event. Castle couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much. He was even starting to enjoy August's company. She was a tad too blunt, but then so was he. Though he tried to make his bluntness funny and entertaining.

"So Castle was handcuffed to the steering wheel barefoot trying ot pick up the handcuff key with his toe," Ryan was saying as everyone burst into laughter. It was funny now. At the time all Castle could think about was getting into the action. He hadn't liked Beckett trapping him in the car. After he had practically solved the case for her.

Their first case together. The thought sobered him up. A phone vibrating cut off Ryan in mid story.

August answered. "James." She started nodding immediately. "Be there in twenty minutes." She ended her call. "Lanie has something." Everyone started shoving food into the mouths. It wasn't like a cop to leave anything on their plate. Sometimes you had to go a few days on nothing but ketchup packets and coffee. An actual meal was not something to be wasted.

"Castle you coming?" Ryan asked as everyone was slipping back into their jackets and checking their guns.

August looked back at the author. She knew that he had worked with the 12th and more to the point Detective Beckett before her untimely murder, but she wasn't aware that he still worked with the department.

"Is Gates still mad about that little misunderstanding?" He asked as he drained his pint.

"Er um. She might be." Esposito tried to hid his grin. It wasn't every day someone marched into his captain's office, upturned her desk right on top of her and walked out without getting shot in the keyster.

Castle smiled, "Well as long as she doesn't hate me." He dropped a generous tip on the table and followed everyone out.

**~~X~~**

Lanie smiled when August and Castle walked into the morgue. "Might want to lay off the chocolate Castle. You can't date supermodels with love handles." Lanie said by way of a hello.

Castle looked down at himself trying to find the poundage Lanie was talking about. "Missed you too Lanie." Once he figured she was just teasing was sure that he hadn't gained any weight since they last saw each other. He leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She swatted his behind with a file.

August was walking around the row of bodies as Lanie and Castle bantered back and forth.

It tore at her heart that girls so young had their lives ripped from them. It filled her with righteous vengeance. The pain fueled her anger, and fueled her drive to do her job better than anyone else. Its what made her a better cop, and with this new promotion she was going to become a better investigator.

"Have we ID them yet?" she asked softly as she stopped at the head of the only ginger in the bunch. The dead girl had been the prettiest if anyone asked August. Though no one was going to ask her.

"I just sent the prints up to Ryan. He should be running them down now." Lanie snapped on a pair of gloves and sauntered over to August. It was showtime. She hadn't called them down to shoot the breeze after all. "Ok folks all five victims were double tapped in the back of the head. Stippling around the wounds indicate it was close range. This was an execution plain and simple. Judging from the bullets that I dug out you are looking for a 9 mm." She turned the ginger's head so August and Castle could see the bullet hole. The girl had two tiny holes on the right cheek for the exit wounds.

August pointed at the girl's exposed arms and hands. "There aren't any defensive wounds on any of them. Were they drugged?"

Lanie shook her head, "All of them were negative for drugs. Something or someone scared them enough to keep them in line while they were shot one by one." August didn't want to think of anything that scary. She sure as hell wouldn't have hung around while someone shot four people in front of her.

"Anything else?" Lanie's little spiel didn't seem to warrant a visit to the body vault as August liked to call it.

Lanie flipped down the sheet over one of the bodies and pointed at a jagged scar on the corpse's stomach. It was ugly and it was dirty. It looked like it had been painful when it happened. What the hell had these girls been put through? "All of them had C-sections in that last month." Castle and August looked at Lanie.

**~~X~~**

It had been a long day and August was ready to just get out of her gun belt and bra and slide into a hot bath. A hot bath she was sure was the cure all whatever ailed you. Though she was sure a nice hot stone massage could compare. She just wasn't into the spa thing. Something about someone else touching her body just didn't sit right with her. Maybe it was all her years in Vice.

This case was starting to unravel. Five Jane Does with c-section scars and two bullets to the back of their heads. It was turning into a right headache. It was a hell of a first case.

She had opted to walk home. It was too cold for a nice walk from the precinct home. In a few days it would be nothing but cab rides. She was close enough to work that the fair wouldn't be insane. August had a prime apartment on Commerce street near the Theater District. Which was not easy to come buy if you didn't have at least eight figures in your bank account.

While she had been working in Central Park she had managed to snag one of the last rent controlled apartments in Manhattan. A few of her colleagues joked that she had used Black Magic. That was the last time they had ever made that particular joke.

She had interrupted a group of young boys savagely beating up on a old couple near the duck pond. She had to shoot one to get them to stop. No one ever listened to her when she said freeze. It was rather annoying. As if her gun wasn't big enough to get someone's attention.

She smiled and waved at the doorman. He was new so she didn't know his name. He returned her smile before leaping to help a old woman and her dog out of a cab. After a short elevator ride she was walking into her apartment. She was still in awe that she had a three bedroom place for $545.

August was out of her blazer, gun belt and shirt before she took a good breath. It was always the best part of her day. Taking off her bra was a sweet victory. She was just now reaching around to unhook herself when she heard something clink in her kitchen.

August had her gun out and letting it lead the way before the thought registered that someone was in her house. She had the Atlanta PD gang task force to thank for her rapid fire reaction time.

She tiptoed over to the wall before collecting herself. "Wrong house jackass," she said training the barrel of her gun on the back of the man's head.

The man froze and threw his hands in the air before turning around slowly.

"Victor?" August asked lowering her gun.

The man nodded, "Your mom gave me her key," He said with a lopsided smile.

August grunted and dropped her gun. She had already shot Victor once, she wasn't keen on having to file another report. Those forms were a pain in her behind. She stepped out of her shoes. August needed to get comfortable before she dealt with her ex-boyfriend. There was a reason she left him in Atlanta. "And how in the hell did you get my house key from my mother?" She pushed him out of the way of the fridge so she could grab a cold Coke. Unlike the rest of her NYPD brethren she liked her poison caffeinated.

"She gave it to me of course," he answered easily. He tried to lean down and snag a kiss from August' cheek. He was rewarded with a jab to the ribs.

"Was this before or after you explained to her that you are the equivalent of a mobster CPA?" August snapped as the popped the can of her Coke and took a long pull.

Victor pulled a face as he followed August out of her kitchen and into her living room. August was rightly ignoring him as she snatched up her remote and turned the TV on. BBC America was running a Doctor Who marathon. "You southern women sure can hold a grudge," He threw himself into one of the chairs that flanked the couch August was now sitting on. He might have been dumb enough to square off with August in her own home he wasn't going to compound the issue by sitting within striking distance.

"You nearly blew a year's worth of undercover work for me and you almost got me kicked off the office. Grudge doesn't begin to describe how I feel about you." she tucked her feet under herself and finally turned her attention fully on Victor.

He liked it better when she was looking at her flatscreen.

"Why are you here? I could have sworn shooting you was a clear enough message." She crossed her arms and waited for him to explain himself.

Victor had always had a face that poker players would have killed for. He dealt with dangerous people for a living. He had to be able to keep his face straight when they discussed cutting of someone's eyelids just to make sure they didn't blink and miscount a single dollar bill.

But August had cracked a former FSB officer in less than two hours with just her smile. Victor and his death stare was small potatoes. And he knew it. She would beat him 50 shades of fubar if he didn't spill the beans. She had all the time in the world to wait for him. As for Victor he was was dead already. He just didn't have the good graces to lie down and accept it.

No one said anything for almost five minutes. Victor finally sighed before he spoke, "I need your help." It wasn't easy for him to be sitting in August's apartment asking for help. She had made it clear she didn't want to see him anymore when she shot him, but he was up a creek without a paddle and she was the only one he trusted to put her job above her personal feelings about him.

She didn't say anything so he took it to mean she would at least her him out. "I sort of branched out from just being the money man to a um procuring of items for my clients." It sounded a lot better in his head. "Two years ago I got hired on by this." He coughed into his hand. "Group of concerned citizens and I think they are trying to kill me." Well no, he knew someone was trying to kill him.

The fireball that used to be his Porsche was his first clue. He might have needed to buy a clue about barging in on his ex-girlfriend who cold carry a gun in all 50 states, but his scorched eyebrows had been a telegraph from hell.

"Have you filed a police report in Atlanta?" August asked.

"I've been in New York for the last three years." He told her. She didn't know what she wanted to do with that information. That meant that he either followed her after he got out of the hospital or Karma was kicking her in the backside just for giggles. "And you're the first person I've told about this. I can't file a report. I know there are cops and judges working for these guys. Clerks, meter maids. Any and everyone that can be bought and used to keep them out of jail is fair game. If I start talking I'm as good as dead." As he said it it hit him for the first time.

His life really was in danger. He has always been the sort of criminal that made himself invaluable to his employers. On top of being honest and having good work ethics. He figured if he governed himself that way he could do what he wanted to do and continue to keep breathing.

With these guys he could feel his expiration date looming. He wanted to head them off at the pass if he could. He liked breathing and walking around. He still had a bucket list to get through.

August saw the flicker of fear cross Victor's face and her own expression softened. She might still want to throttle him, but protect and serve always come first for her. Watching out for the little guy was the reason she had become a cop. The irony of herself being counted as a little guy was never lost on her. August stifled a yawn, "Well I'm dog tired so you can sleep on the couch and we can sit down tomorrow and you give me the rundown and I can see what I can do."

Victor wanted to pull August into his arms and hug her tight he was so grateful, but the little twang in his shoulder reminded him about the boundaries she insisted on maintaining. "Thanks." he offered instead.

"I'm not promising anything. I've got actual cases to work, but I will look into." She stood up from the couch and nodded once at Victor before retreating into her bedroom to take a shower and climb into bed.

She had been asleep before she had gotten her underwear pulled on properly. Surprisingly she sleep hard and well.

It must have been all the nervous and excitement of the her new job that helped her sleep. August usually tossed and turned for hours before settling down. She climbed out of bed and did her stretches. As a cop and a small cop at that she got into fights a lot. People tended to think she was a push over and an easy target when they didn't want to go quietly. So she tried to keep her body limber and in shape. She didn't want to be one of those old overweight cops with back and knee problems hobbling around the local pub looking for relief.

She didn't hear Victor moving around up front so she took her time as quietly as she could to get ready. August remembered him being a night owl anyways. So he probably just went to sleep. She took her time brushing her teeth and getting her hair fixed just right. Her little pixie haircut was in need of a touchup as it was.

So she was trying to minimize her fluffy q-tip appearance. August picked out a pair of calf boots that gave her a few precious inches of height. She could almost see five inches. It made her smile. This might turn out to be a good day she thought to herself.

She pulled on her gun and her jacket before walking into the living room. She felt it before she saw it. Something wasn't right. Her spidey senses started screaming at her. She drew her gun and tiptoed into her living room. A down feather greeted her on its way to the floor. August frowned and looked around. There were feathers everywhere. "What the he..." The rest of the sentence died on her lips.

She wanted to sag to the floor.

Victor was lying on the couch with a blood soaked pillow covering his face. His blood slowly dripped on the floor where his fingers had been removed. Bile rose up in her throat but she fought it back. She had to secure her apartment before she tossed her cookies. Being a cop came first, being a girl was a distant second.

She tipped around the couch and checked the kitchen. Empty. Her front door was locked and secured. That made her frown. How had they gotten in. She was on the fourth floor and her windows were all locked. She was nothing if safety conscious. No time for that. She swept through the living room and back into the other bedrooms. Empty. Now she could go throw up.

August had to race back into her bathroom before she threw up all over her floor and contaminated the crime scene. Gates would have her head if she messed up an investigation involving a cop. It only took a hint of a scandal to bring IA out in full force.

Sitting on the floor of her bathroom after she was sure there wasn't anything else coming up she reached for her phone and dialed the switchboard. "This is Det. James badge number 9024 calling in a 10-24. One casualty at 38 Commerce St. apartment f." The dispatcher babbled something back but August wasn't listening. She snapped her phone shut and threw up again.

Though she lived in Manhattan the response time was still terrible for residents who called in emergencies. Being a cop she had three squad cars and a bus outside her building in less than seven minutes.

Ryan and Esposito were pushing their way through the knot of uniforms three minutes later. "What happened?" Javier demanded. They pulled August away from the lab geeks crawling around Victor's body and August's apartment. Ryan opened the door to one of the bedrooms and they stepped in.

August had collected herself from her earlier upset stomach. She was glad no one had been there to see that. It had taken her long enough to gain some respect in the department. All it would take would be for someone to see her in a moment of weakness for her reputation to be shattered.

"Victor is." She shook her head and chocked up. "Was an ex-boyfriend who just showed up last night." A look passed between Ryan and Esposito. "I made him sleep on the couch," Men. "I didn't hear anything. I woke up and found him on the couch with his face blown off." Her stomach rumbled but she battled it into submission.

It was time to work. Not be a silly female.

"When was the last time you saw him? Before tonight." Ryan pulled out his little notebook and started taking notes.

"When I left Atlanta, and last night I went to bed around midnight. Victor was a night owl so I have no idea when he knocked off." It was barely 9 am and already August felt like a wrung washcloth.

"What was the nature of your present relationship?" You're a thorough little bugger aren't you, August wanted to snarl at Kevin.

She had to shake herself to clear her head. Nothing would get done if she started snapping at people just trying to do their jobs. Like the lab rats crawling around her apartment looking at all of her personal things. "He just stopped by to say hello. It was late so I told him he could crash on the couch." She hated keeping secrets from her team, but she wasn't sure what the hell it was Victor was going to tell her so there was no point mudding the waters with that.

Just yet.


	3. Bonding Moment

"If you think for minute that I am going to allow a detective on my watch to investigate the murder of her boyfriend that occurred in that detective's apartment then you've got another thing coming." Victoria Gates said as she thumbed through the preliminary report that Ryan had filed.

August bristled, "But sir he was my..." Captain Gates cut her off with a glacier stare. August prided herself on never faltering in the face of danger, but she was smart enough to show deference to the captain.

This was one fight she was going to lose. So she might as well do it with a teensy amount of grace.

Captain Gates stood up and popped the hand holding the report onto her hip. She was letting her hood attitude come out and play now. It would have been comical if August wasn't getting her behind handed to her. "You aren't on this case James. End. Of. The. Story." She glared down at August over the top of her glasses to make sure August got her point.

August gave her the tiniest nod of her head. "Ryan and Esposito will run point on the murder of Victor Jones. You stick to the Central Park murders. Unless you think that's not enough work for you?" August had to picture a sarcasm bubble popping up above the Captain's head to keep from growling.

Her home had been violated, a friend murdered and left dying on her couch while she had slept the night away. Dreaming about the vacation she was planning to take next year. How could she walk into that squad room and look anyone in the eye? How was she supposed to go out there and do here job when she couldn't keep anyone safe in her home? Why had they spared her? If she didn't investigate Victor's murder it was going to consume her. She could feel it.

August had to try one last time to get on the case. She wouldn't sleep if she didn't try her hardest. "Sir please don't do this." August asked.

Her chocolate eyes flipped up to August. All the warmth she was known for was showing through. Captain Gates was done with this discussion. "You have a case to run Detective. I suggest you get started." August swallowed back to the retort that coated her tongue. Captain Gates sat back down in her chair and picked up another file effectively dismissing August and her plea.

They might have liked her spunk on the Ho Stroll uptown, but she doubted Iron Gates liked a lot of lip from her squad. "Yes sir," she ground out before walking out of the office. She had the presence of mind not to slam the door.

A few uniforms that had been standing around in the squad room scattered when she came out. She fixed their backs with a grade A 'if looks could' kill stares. August was a tornado looking for a trailer park at this point and it would be best if she stayed clear of innocents.

And this was only her second day. Yipee.

She was humming with rage and it was all she could do to keep herself from exploding. August walked over to her desk, then thought better of sitting down within reach of anything throwable. She changed course and headed to get some coffee. People wisely careened out of her way. It was one thing when the public stirred clear of you it was an entirely different thing when you could scatter a room full of armed cops. August didn't know if that should piss her off more or make her smile. She stuck with pissed off.

She didn't trust herself to speak at the moment. August couldn't remember a time when she had been so upset, she was literally shaking.

August went into the break room to fix herself some coffee. That was the safe thing for her to do. She couldn't just storm around the squad room like a dark cloud. People had jobs to do and she wasn't making that easy. Hell she had a job to do. Five dead bodies in the park should be enough to keep her going for a few weeks.

She had a goal of beating Beckett's closure rate, and she wasn't going to do that being pissed off at the world over things she couldn't control. Like getting Gates to change her mind.

The coffee was going to be a quick fix to take her mind of things. It was either the caffeine or down to the range to shoot something. The caffeine seemed the wiser bet. Yeah that was the smart thing to do. She had skipped her morning coffee during all the buzzing around in her apartment and the blood. August was never going to forget the blood.

Eight cups of coffee and three espressos later she walked back out to her desk. Well she tried to walk back out to her desk. August was a tad jittery and she cursed her temper for making her suck back eight coffees and three espressos with nothing else on her stomach. It was stupid and it was going to come back and bite her in the tail.

August rubbed at her chest. Her heart felt like it was banging against her rib cage in a bid for freedom.

She flexed her fingers a few times to keep them from trembling. She had practically drunk her body weight in coffee.

After a few coordination issues she was able to make it over to the cage that separated the homicide bullpen from the rest of the squad room without vibrating onto the ceiling. However she was seeing double of everything and now she had forgotten why she needed to go back to the bullpen.

She took that as a bad sign.

"Hey are you alright?" August yelped and whirled around. She had to grab the end of the murder board to keep herself from face planting onto the scrubbed linoleum floor. She looked up at Lainey. Well to be exact she looked up and came nose to nipple with Lainey's ample breasts.

"I'm fine." August blinked a few times to clear her vision of Lainey standing in the middle of the squad room with four breasts. She was pretty sure women weren't built that way.

"Are you sure. You found someone murdered in your living with feathers flying everywhere. I would say that is a good excuse for some vacation time honey." She gave August a sympathetic look and a small smile. August didn't have many female friends, but she could see herself warming up to Lainey and maybe doing one of those girl's nights out that she used to go on with her sisters. Hopefully this wouldn't end up with arrests and settlements.

"Who's taking a vacation?" Castle asked stepping off the elevator carrying a caddy filled with two large cups of something steaming. "I got coffee." He held out a cup.

August's stomach rolled and she tried to bolt for the bathroom. She didn't make it. It was the last thing she remembered.

**~~X~~**

"Are you sure she's a detective?" whispered a feminine voice.

"She walks softly and carries a big gun. I would say yeah she's a cop." a male voice answered.

"She's so small though." a new female voice added.

"I wouldn't tell her that." the male voice answered.

August groaned. She wished that if they were going to take about her they could at least remove her head from the clamp.

"Good evening Det. James." August blinked open her eyes and found Castle leaning over her. She tried to swat him away and found she just didn't have the energy. He grinned. "Passing out does take a lot out of you doesn't it." He found her inability to hit him a good thing.

"Where am I?" she asked. She wasn't at home. Her sheets just weren't this soft and her bed wasn't that big. Now to be fair any bed August was in was bigger than her, but this bed felt like an ocean of super soft sheets and luxurious pillows. It was heaven to say the least.

"My guest bedroom. You house is still a crime scene and Lainey said you didn't have to go to the hospital, but she did recommend that you lay off the coffee for awhile." He winked before disappearing out of her line of sight.

August rolled over and tried to get out of the bed. It wasn't happening. Well not without help anyways. Which she was not going to ask for. She had passed out in the squad room in front of everyone. That pissed her off enough to get herself out of the bed and into the bathroom under the force of her attitude.

She wanted to strip and shower, but she didn't have anything to change into. Her clothes weren't messed up but she had bee laying in them all day if the clock by the bed was to be believed. August sighed, a shower might have been asking too much of Castle. When she walked into the bathroom a pair of pjs and a change of clothes was resting on the counter.

She would have kissed Castle for bringing her clothes. It must have been the women he was talking to who told him her size because she was sure Castle would have gone to Baby GAP to shop for her.

August sat on the edge of the tug as she waited for it to fill with frothy water. It had taken her a minute to play around with the different bubble baths and bath salts. She couldn't believe that it was such a production for rich people to bath. Not that she was complaining. August was going to take advantage of being in Castle's monstrosity of a bathroom as long as she could. Her home was going to be a crime scene till the case was finished.

Once the water was nearly to the top she stripped and climbed into the tub to relax. She was barely a 100 pounds so the water didn't rise more than a few inches. There was no way she had to the strength to stand in a shower for any period of time. And there was always time for a soak in a tub the size of a swimming pool.

There was a knock on the door and August was just too tired to answer. Castle walked into the bathroom carrying two glasses of wine. August snatched her towel off the edge of the tub to cover herself. "I'm still a woman you know." she snapped at him. Everything might have been smaller on her than regular sized women but it was all the same.

Castle grinned, "Nothing I haven't seen before detective." He wagged his eyebrows and August rolled her eyes. If he wanted to play locker room creeper she didn't care. She had always been more a man's woman than a girly girl anyways. "Thought you could use one of these." He set down one of the glasses on the edge while he grabbed a seat on the counter.

August accepted the glass. She drank slowly. She wasn't sure how wise it was to chase a caffeine overdose with wine but she wasn't going to complain or turn it down. "You didn't have to do any of those. I could stayed at a hotel." She sank lower in the water.

At least some of the bubbles were giving her coverage. The towel she grabbed was only a bath cloth.

Castle waved away her lame thank you. "Nonsense. I've got the room." He took a sip of his wine and tried not to let his eyes linger on August's breasts. If he had to describe them he would have say they were spectacular. He couldn't understand why a woman as beautiful as August would chose to be a cop. He felt his heart skip a beat. She reminded him of Beckett. "Um well I will leave you to your bath." He nearly spilled his wine in his attempt to get out of the bathroom.

August actually sat up in the tub to watch Castle run out of the bathroom. She wasn't in a state to follow him buck naked and sopping so she finished her bath before she went on a hunt to look for him. The bra was a little too small, but it wasn't uncomfortable. She wasn't sure about the Juicy sweatpants, but they felt wonderful. She might keep them.

Castle's apartment was bigger than she thought or rather bigger than hers. Which wasn't tiny to begin with. Castle actually had two floors. Really who had a two floor apartment in New York City?

No she had never read any of Castle's books, but she didn't know they were selling like that. She had heard good things about Derek Storm and Nikki Heat. Maybe Beckett could give her some pointers from beyond the grave. She had to wince at that last thought.

August tiptoed down the stairs into a spacious living room kitchen combination. Seriously her entire apartment could have fit into the first floor of Castle's apartment. A bottle of Coke in the glass refrigerator caught her eye, but she didn't know if she had leave to start snooping around in Castle's house. "You remind him of Beckett." a soft voice said.

August whirled around, her hand ghosting down to her hip before she remembered she was in a pair of pants that said Juicy on the butt and she didn't have her gun on her.

She found herself standing in the shadow of a leggy redhead with boobs for days. August was starting to feel a lot smaller. The redhead's skin was the color of poured milk which only made her flaming hair stand out more. It was a beautiful effect on her August had to admit.

"I do?" August asked. She couldn't think of a thing about her that was like Beckett. Not that she ever got to meet the legendary detective. She was still at Central Park when Beckett was killed. She had still been a uniform during that medieval duel case Beckett had worked in the park.

"Beckett was larger than life and a pretty tough badass detective." The redhead stepped around August to rummage in the fridge herself. She extracted the Coke bottle August had been pinning for. She grabbed two glasses. August could have clapped like a little girl with glee. Nothing like a ice cold glass of coke after a hot bubble bath. August was convinced Coca Cola was the nectar of the gods. "I'm Alexis by the way." August shook her hand. She was happy to see that Alexis gave her a firm handshake.

"You can call me August." She hoped it had been Alexis that had gotten her out of her clothes. That put you on a first name basis if you asked August. They talked well into the night. Though August was easily five years older than Alexis she felt like they could be the best of friends. Alexis was wise beyond her years and it was hard to see that she was Castle's daughter. He was such a toddler.

August had to call it a night around one a.m. She wasn't sure if she was on leave for her little fainting spell at the precinct, but she was going to act like she had to get up and go to work in the morning.

She found Castle sitting on her bed just staring at the closet door. "Sorry about earlier." He said when she walked in.

August shrugged, "We all have baggage Castle. Mine was murdered in my house last night." Her heart thudded painfully. It was still too early to be flippant about Victor's death.

He looked up into her eyes, "Did you still love him?" he whispered. His eyes had a wet shine to them. August hated to see a man cry, but she wasn't going to dismiss Castle's pain.

"Yeah I did." she told him honestly. Victor had broken her heart not by breaking up with her or throwing her out with the trash but by turning out to be the very sort of person she took pleasure in locking up for a living. She couldn't stay with him after she found out, but her heart still wanted him. He was the real reason she had to leave Atlanta. She couldn't stay in the city knowing she would bump into Victor at every turn. "It hurts like hell." she sat down on the bed next to him. "He died thinking I hated him and I was just upset at what he did." August couldn't believe that she was opening up to Castle like she was.

She hadn't even talked to her sisters about Victor. Well those two should have been called Face and Book because nothing was kept under wraps with those two.

"I told her I loved her before she took her last breath." A small shudder went through his body. August instinctively reached out for his hand. He interlaced his fingers with hers. She gave him a small squeeze.

"Does it get better?" she asked him. It had only been a few hours since Victor had been murdered it was going on two years for Castle.

He shook his head, "It gets easier to deal with the pain." They sat there on the edge of the bed in silence for nearly an hour. Both of them lost to their pain. August struggled not to give into hers. If she let herself go down that path she wasn't sure she would be able to find her way back to good. Castle struggled to remember Beckett as she was. Not how she ended up. Lying in that white coffin, eyes closed, body stiff with rigor mortis. He refused to think of her rotting away next to her mother for eternity. It had taken him two years to get to the place where he could think of her smile and not burst into tears.

Castle turned to August he leaned over. August froze. He placed his lips gently on her forehead. "Thank you," He stood up and left. August rolled up into the comforter and went to sleep.

It was a struggle for August to make herself get up and go to work the next morning. She wanted to jump down a manhole and live in an abandoned subway station with the rats and giant alligators.

She made it to the station before anyone else. That suited her just fine. She didn't want to walk into the room and have everyone's conversation stop while they stared at her. That would cause her to draw her gun.

Before the clock struck nine August was looking up at her murder board. Well no it wasn't hers. It had been Beckett's. She sighed, it wasn't like she didn't have work to do. Those girls deserved just as much justice as Victor did.

It just burned her that someone had come into her private space and killed someone she loved. It was sad that Victor's death had freed her to love him again. Even if she were pissed at him she would remember all of the things that she had loved about him. August shook herself before she fell down that rabbit hole.

The morgue shots of her five victims stared out at her. The efficient manner of their deaths unnerved her more than anything else. Violence she could deal with. Death she could deal with. Cold, calculating murder that was carried out with the same care you would give throwing out dirty dish water was on another level for her. Whoever had killed her girls they weren't newbies. They had done this before and they had had time to prefect a system that worked.

"Gates take you off the case?" Ryan asked stepping off the elevator. August was glad he was getting down to busy and not trying to make her feel good about what happened yesterday.

"Of course she did," August answered. Didn't her mood tell him everything he needed to know? 'Maybe he's trying to be nice,' her reasonable side offered. A smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. Ryan did seem like the type to be nice to anyone. "Its still a little raw. Didn't mean to give you lip." she offered.

Ryan nodded, "I get it. She pulled me off a personal case last year. The anger will eat at you I know. But me and Javy will catch this guy." He offered her a reassuring smile. August took it. She had a feeling there were going to be days when she was glad of Ryan's feel good nature.

He patted her on the shoulder before returning to his desk to get back to his case.

She turned away when he started flipping through the crime scene photos. Victor's face had been the first photo. The neat little hole in his forehead was not something she wanted tattooed on her brain for the rest of her life.

August shuffled her case photos around on her desk. It was hard to concentrate on her case. Nay impossible. It was going to nag at her till she solved it. She couldn't let Victor's kill just walk. She knew it was protocol that she didn't work the case. It was plainly written in black and white. Something that had been driven into her at the academy. It was the same with a doctor working on a family member. Your emotions made you sloppy, blurred the lines between ethical/legal and by any means necessary. She had been telling herself that since the lab geeks had kicked her out of her apartment, but she had been holding out hope that maybe Gates would have a heart.

Maybe Gates would bend the rules and let her work the case. She had been comically wrong. It wasn't a great feeling.

August got up to sit down in the chair next to Ryan's desk. She couldn't help it. It had barely been ten minutes since he had moved. "Have you got anything?" she asked looking at Ryan with what she hoped was her best Damsel in Distress look.

It was hard for Ryan to deny anyone anything, let alone a woman when she pulled the puppy dog look on him. August still had the little girl thing going for her. She was going to be hell on his will power. He could tell. He sighed. "So far nothing. The only set of prints are yours and Victor's. No sign of forced entry. If it weren't for the two slugs in your friend we wouldn't even know someone had been there." He resisted showing her the photos of Victor's body. He didn't want her to have to remember her friend that way. "It was a professional hit. Clean in and out." It was beyond thin Ryan knew but he had been shot only 24 hours ago.

August nodded and had to swallow hard around the lump in her throat. "It would help if you could give us more." They hadn't pushed August nearly as hard as they would have another witness. August knew that. They had been showing her a professional curtsey.

"Victor said he had moved to the city nearly three years ago. He was a glorified mob accountant." It was difficult for her to talk to Ryan about this, but he seemed easier to talk to than Javier. She sighed into the standard office chair. "He said someone was trying to kill him. He asked me to help him. We were going to talk about it yesterday." There that was everything that she knew about what Victor had been up to recently.

"Who did he work for?" Ryan started scribbling.

"The Syndicate down in Atlanta. I was working undercover as the girlfriend of the boss. It had taken me nearly seven months to get in. Apparently you can't trust a big butt and a smile that easily." She had to grin at her joke even if Ryan didn't get it. "I met Victor at a party that didn't have anything to do with my undercover work. I think it was for my sister's graduation or something. Things started out innocent enough. We hung out at the movies, my sister's house. I think they had some classes together. He knew I was a cop. I mean I don't work undercover with my family." August smiled. "I was coming back from a buy for Slim and my sister had forgotten to pick me up at the airport so Victor got me. He took me home and um." A slow blush worked its way up from her neck to her cheeks. "You know." She wasn't going to explain how Victor had introduced her to her first orgasm. She was so not going there with Ryan.

"I didn't intend for it to go anywhere, but we kept seeing each other. Slim had called a meeting at his house. Everyone was coming in for it. I was sitting at the table when Victor walked in. I don't know what his face looked like but I was sure I looked like I had swallowed a rattlesnake. He just stood there as we looked at each other. He knew I was a cop and now I knew what he really did for a living. It took all of my willpower to stay in character. He didn't out me, but I had to move up the timetable on the take down. It was too early for me to get all the information that I needed, but we took down everyone. Well except Victor. He fell through the cracks, but showed up at my sister's house looking for me. I shot him and that was the last time I saw him." It was crazy that she could boil down her feelings and the love affair with Victor into a paragraph.

August had never been an emotional female. She left the dramatics up to her sisters. She was just waiting on one of them getting an Academy Award they were that good at crying at the drop of a hat or flying into a rage for no reason at all.

So she knew what emotions were. Of course she did. She just tried not to show a lot. August didn't want to be one of those females. No one took you serious when they thought you were emotional and she couldn't afford that female.

She was under five feet tall already, and they city refused to let her carry a bigger gun.


End file.
